| | | Poster power | We're having a bit of a discussion down here in Cape Town over newspaper posters – those specifically from a particular newspaper; it seems that more and more people are finding it more and more difficult to explain to their little darlings what certain terms mean. Of course, even little Johnny probably knows more than his parents think he does, but I must say, some of the posters I have seen from the publication are pretty explicit - not only in the language they use, but also in the stories they are promoting. So it's no wonder moms and dads have to think feverishly around corners as they try to explain away the more head-turning headlines. I am starting to have a vision of parents taking their children to school not along the main roads, but ducking and diving along the side roads where the posters are less likely to be encountered. So where's the line? Is an explicit poster an assault on our sensibilities? Personally, I don't have a hassle – but then I don't have an impressionable son or daughter asking awkward questions after spotting a headline relating to some pervert or other. Of course, the newspaper in question says that they are merely covering the stories that other newspapers don't. Critics say that they are quite happy the paper publishes what it does – but they contend that they have a choice of buying it or reading it, or not (clearly most of the time, not). A poster that leaps out at you as you sit at a traffic light is a very different kettle of fish, however - particularly when your passenger asks you innocently what “****” means?
Rod Baker, Content Manager: Send your news to: retailnews@bizcommunity.com; or visit https://www.bizcommunity.com.
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| | Headlines | Research finds retailers must overhaul loyalty programmes
Major retailer launches custom mag
Food, energy contribute to rates hike
IOL launches shopping portal
Zimbabwe's freight industry faces ‘collapse'
SA packaging giant moves into Botswana
Poisonous plastic packaging linked to obesity
New online retail study indicates little progress by major brands
Growth's secret challenge ... finding enough space for it
The swearword in advertising
The consumer-segmenting headache
Making compliance profitable
World's top Lean operations experts headline local conference
It's time to give something to SANTA... and others
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Retail | | Soweto launch for Joburg Fashion Week
 Soweto is the host of the first day of Joburg Fashion Week, which runs 21 – 25 August 2007. Organised by African Fashion International, conveners of Cape Town Fashion Week and the new talent showcase MTN Durban Fashion Week, the hosting of the first day of a major international fashion week is intended to be a symbol of the rapid transformation of Soweto.
Russian court deals harsh blow to global music industry
Several leaders in the international music industry suffered a bitter defeat as a Russian court found that Denis Kvasov, music site AllofMP3.com chief, committed no copyright violations. The site sold tracks to consumers at prices below the market without the permission of copyright owners.
IOL launches shopping portal
 Independent Online (IOL) recently launched a shopping portal enabling access to over 600 South African e-retail sites at the click of the mouse. Hosted and maintained by Jump Shopping, one of South Africa's biggest online shopping search engines, the portal enables instant comparisons between products and prices through its comparative search facility.
New online retail study indicates little progress by major brands
According to a new study by integrated online marketing site Oneupweb, 81% of Internet Retailer Magazine's top 100 retailers' websites are not fully utilising search engine optimisation and marketing - missing profitable opportunities and risking loss of market share.
High-definition TV campaign is poles ahead
 Samsung have launched a high-definition (HD) television and to ensure it's advertising material would stand out in the outdoor environment. The result is a clean, uncluttered visual of the new product with punchy, direct copy to entice consumers.
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Banking & Finance | | Food, energy contribute to rates hike
[Michael Appel] Rising food and energy costs have been flagged as the main contributors to the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to hike the repo rate by the expected 50 basis points to 10%.
Credit conference announces keynote speaker
 London, UK - Dr. Robert L. Phillips, founder, chief science officer, and vice president of product management of Nomis Solutions, a leader in profit-based pricing for banking and finance, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference hosted by the University of Edinburgh Management School.
New team for insurance giant's Africa arm
The Liberty Group announces new team for Rest of Africa to drive strategic growth.
Making compliance profitable
 [Jean Moncrieff, CEO of Emerge Africa] The number of Acts regulating South Africa's banking sector has grown from 106 in 1990 to 232 today. However, it's not just banks that are affected: from retailers to telephone operators and from the National Credit Act to FICA and RICA, thousands of businesses have a long list of new compliance needs to meet.
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Brand news | | Sportswear manufacturer goes one step further
 Apparel and footwear giant Nike, has collaborated with seventeen magazine on an innovative digital campaign.
Major retailer launches custom mag
 Pick 'n Pay's new customer magazine will launch in November 2007, with an initial print run of 150 000; and is being produced by John Brown, one of the UK's leading customer publishing, catalogue and digital agencies which recently opened offices in South Africa.
Yoghurt goes musical
Danone's Yogi Sip is underlining its connection with South Africa's youth and music culture by signing its first-ever sponsorship deal with MTV Networks Africa.
Sponsoring champion kids
 McDonald's launched its newest Olympic Games programme, McDonald's Champion Kids, on 9 August 2007 in Beijing. The initiative will enable up to 300 kids from around the world to travel to the 2008 Olympic Games to share their stories and experiences with their local communities and hometown news outlets.
Make it a cider summer
 As summer approaches, consumers can look forward to a brand new premium cider from Brandhouse - Foundry Premium Cider.
French Champagne house pops the cork in SA
 French Champagne house, Pol Roger, recently selected Manley Communications to represent the brand in South Africa. Renowned for producing Sir Winston Churchill's favourite Champagne, Pol Roger was first established in 1849 in Epernay, France. It's one of the few champagne houses that is still family owned, while under the management of non-family member Patrice Noyelle in the capacity as Président du Directoire. Also adding his expertise to the mix is master Champenois and former Krug winemaker, Dominique Petit, who recently joined the team. Currently, Pol Roger offers a portfolio of non-vintage and vintage champagnes, with the Sir Winston Churchill Vintage as the estate's showpiece and Cuvée de Prestige. Pol Roger champagnes are currently available for purchase at a number of high-end retailers in Cape Town, Gauteng and Pietermaritzburg.
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Consumer research | | Research finds retailers must overhaul loyalty programmes
Retail loyalty programmes are at a crossroads, according to a new Retail Systems Research report, Getting Loyalty Programmes Back to Loyalty. RSR's research confirms that retailers must transform their loyalty programmes from a pay-for-data scheme into something that captures the customer data they need, while still providing the kind of value to a customer that generates real loyalty.
What do men want?
Buying gifts for men can be a tricky situation. While most men prefer gifts they can actually use, the traditional stand-bys (such as clothing, hardware and gadgets) sometimes leave much to be desired. MenScience Androceuticals recently hosted an online poll to find out what men really want...
Build or buy customised research reports
ResearchBuy has revamped its web site and upgraded its offerings to help the research buyer get exactly what they need when looking for market research. ResearchBuy now offers reports from premium market research providers and ResearchBuild™ in addition to its patent-pending custom market research solution.
The consumer-segmenting headache
The ongoing retailer's battle for a bigger market share is set to take a new twist as it becomes harder to segment consumers in traditional ways (age, gender, income and many more), due to profound changes in attitudes, health, convenience and lifestyle.
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Franchising | | New team puts franchisees first
USA - Guerrilla Marketing Strategies, an exclusive guerrilla marketing partner for franchise companies, recently teamed with sales expert Aaron Bare, CEO of the National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP). Together, the pair aim to provide expertise in sales effectiveness and marketing execution, in order to assist business owners create long-term success.
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Health & Safety | | Poisonous plastic packaging linked to obesity
Healthy Task Force, a new division of Michael Torchia's Operation Fitness reports malpractice, evidence of unhealthy manufacturing and new discoveries of poisons in the environment, such as the dangers of plastic. The goal is to educate the nation and the world to set new standards for health and wellness organisations.
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Import/Export | | Zimbabwe's freight industry faces ‘collapse'
Zimbabwe's freight industry is operating at under 30% of its capacity - an unsustainable rate that could see the industry collapse. Observers say the main reason is for the low operational level is the currently crippling rate of exchange for the local currency.
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Merchandising | | The swearword in advertising
[Pierre Mare] The veritable and wholly indisputable truth concerning the esteemed craft of copy in advertising.
Online fashion fiesta
 USA - The new Fall Fashion Trend Reports are live on the Fashiontribes Blog, FashionIndie.com and Papierdoll.net - with the in-depth scoop on ready-to-wear, couture, and emerging talent.
On-the-wall card campaign reaches the shopper
 With some of South Africa's finest malls hosting the new Barclay's Bank credit card campaign, Primall Media, a subsidiary of Primedia Unlimited, devised a campaign aimed at reaching every shopper within the targeted malls.
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Packaging | | SA packaging giant moves into Botswana
 Nampak, Africa's largest packaging company, has expanded its African footprint with the opening of its first manufacturing plant outside of South Africa – in Botswana.
Make merry with magnum Merlot
 Make merry this festive season with the special edition Zonnebloem 2002 Merlot magnum stylishly packaged in a unique gift box.
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Promotions | | International chefs for foodie show
 The upcoming Good Food and Wine Show, which takes place 1 – 4 November 2007 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Johannesburg, will include an array of top international chefs. Newcomers include the Hairy Bikers; Mich Turner, who makes cake creations for the likes of David Beckham, Pierce Brosnan and Madonna; chocolatier Keith Hurdman; Sophie Grigson; and old favourites Brian Turner and Andrew Nutter.
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Regulatory | | New head joins FEDHASA
 Nikki Akanbi has been appointed executive officer of the inland region of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA).
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Supermarkets | | It's time to give something to SANTA... and others
 Radio 2000's Plight of the Homeless campaign, now running at Somerset Mall, The Mall of Rosebank, Northgate and the Village Walk Shopping Centre, ends on 31 August, and since its launch in June, it has helped SANTA, Meals on Wheels, Somerset Night Shelter and other charities to assist the needy.
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Supply chain | | Flash shortage stunts Chinese electronics' sales
 Consumer electronics importers have been hit by a sudden rise in prices this month, as Chinese factories unexpectedly ran into global shortages in supplies of Taiwan and Korea-made NAND flash memory chips.
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Technology | | PC manufacturer launches new products in Kenya
[Zachary Ochieng] The IT sector in Kenya, and to a greater extent East Africa, is set for a major price war following the launch by Acer of low-priced but innovative products.
New software support for UPS Worldship
TrueShip has introduced support for UPS WorldShip® version 9, aimed at adding new expandability to TrueShip's ReadyShipper shipping software.
RFID tagging the S.M.A.R.T way
ODIN technologies, a leader in RFID solution design, testing and deployment was recently awarded another RFID patent, which related to a project dubbed the "Secure Material Accounted in Real Time (S.M.A.R.T) container". US Patent No. 7,256,682 relates to, for example, a wide range of embodiments having active and/or passive RFID to provide efficient and accurate visibility of assets as they travel in a closed container.
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Training | | Growth's secret challenge ... finding enough space for it
Rapid growth is cause for celebration. It's also the cause of some head-scratching because in many sectors it arrived much faster than expected.
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| | Business | | World's top Lean operations experts headline local conference
The world's two foremost leaders in Lean – Jim Womack and Dan Jones – will headline the Lean Summit Africa in Cape Town from 27-28 September. [Management] |
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| | People | | | Primedia @ Home appoints national systems manager - more info | | More... Submit a Person | | |
| | Upcoming events | "Smart Rock" RFID seminar Harmonic Group - Johannesburg, 21 August | More... Submit an event | | |
| | Quotes | | | "The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken." - Samuel Johnson | | "High-tech tomatoes. Mysterious milk. Supersquash. Are we supposed to eat this stuff? Or is it going to eat us?" - Annita Manning | | "I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream." - Heywood Broun | | "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Mohandas K. Gandhi | | "Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage." - Catherine Douzel | | More... Submit a Quote | | |
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